DOJ May Skirt Court Order on Interrogation Documents In Response to ACLU Lawsuit

[kpete]

Source: Washington Independent

The Obama administration may circumvent the spirit of a judge’s order to disclose hundreds of documents relating to the CIA’s Bush-era interrogation program, delivering instead generic descriptions of the documents and legal arguments for continued nondisclosure.

While the CIA inspector general’s 2004 report on torture was released Monday, a tranche of hundreds of supporting documents sought by an ongoing American Civil Liberties Union court case remain unseen. Those include 129 documents that provide some of the source material for the inspector general’s report; 138 other documents from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel about the interrogation program; and a Sept. 17, 2001 presidential order from George W. Bush authorizing the CIA to set up unacknowledged detention facilities around the world. The Justice Department released additional supporting documents earlier this week in addition to the inspector general’s report.

On July 20, Judge Allen Hellerstein of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the government needed to complete a review of the documents for declassification in response to an ACLU Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by Monday, Aug. 31. “As to the remaining 318 remanded CIA documents, the Government shall complete its processing of those documents by August 31, 2009, such that, on or before that date, the Government shall produce to the plaintiffs any portions of those 318 documents that are appropriate for release under ,”Hellerstein wrote in an order filed the following day.

But after The Washington Independent reported on the forthcoming disclosure, an administration official who insisted on anonymity emailed to say the report was inaccurate. Asked if there would be any disclosures on Monday, the official responded, “Nope.”

Read more: http://washingtonindependent.com/57079/skirting-court-order-doj-may-withhold-interrogation-documents

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

...

[mbperrin]

2. Why would we expect anything else? There's no evidence that Bush

officials will ever be held to account, nor is it likely that we will ever find out the truth about all things done in our name.

I hate that.

[PSPS]

3. U-bama strikes again.

[formercia]

4. That's why people in the CIA and elsewhere do crazy shit with impunity.

I have personally seen them get away with Murder and party afterwords about how they played the 'system.'

[Zhade]

5. "Change"

NT!

[villager]

6. ah, so much fucking "change" it's hard to stand it!

n/t

[No Elephants]

7. Stick a fork in the Rule of Law. It sure was a great couple of centuries, though.

[No Elephants]

8. P.S. Please donate to the ACLU.